Founding Product Engineer
- Onsite
- All software engineering jobs
- FullTime
- Engineering
About the role
About the Role
This is a founding engineering seat at an early-stage legal AI company where you will build the core product from the ground up, working side by side with attorneys and AI engineers. You will have the rare opportunity to set engineering culture and standards while shipping software that real customers depend on every day. It is an intense, high-ownership environment with long hours and six-day weeks, built for someone who thrives on urgency and impact.
What You'll Do
Build and own core product features across the full stack, from data models to the attorney- and client-facing interfaces used daily.
Partner with AI engineers and licensed attorneys to translate legal workflows and contract review playbooks into reliable, production-grade software.
Make pragmatic architecture and tooling decisions that balance speed now with a solid foundation for the future.
Write maintainable code, build for reliability, and take complete ownership of what you ship in production.
Help define engineering culture, coding standards, and hiring practices as the team grows.
Work directly with domain experts to turn real legal judgment into fast-shipping, high-quality software.
What We're Looking For
1 to 3 years of building and shipping production software, ideally at an early-stage startup or as a founder.
Strong full-stack capability: TypeScript and React on the frontend, a modern backend stack, and relational databases.
Hands-on experience building with AI and LLMs, whether professionally or in personal projects.
A track record of owning features end-to-end and making sound engineering trade-offs under pressure.
Comfort with ambiguity and proven ability to thrive in fast-moving, high-ownership environments with minimal process.
Product instincts and an entrepreneurial, owner-oriented mindset.
Excellent judgment, strong communication skills, and a high personal bar for quality.
Resilience and persistence when initial approaches fail, with experience in modern DevOps, CI/CD, and production monitoring as a plus.
Background in legal tech, contract management, document processing, or working directly with domain experts such as attorneys is a plus.
Compensation & Benefits
Salary range: $140,000 to $180,000 USD annually. Visa sponsorship is not available.
Location
On-site in San Francisco, California. This is a fully in-person role, six days per week.
Description as published by Clera.
